I'm a designer looking to learn Javascript...advice

[skunker]

Hi all,
I'm a web designer with over 15 years of experience. I am a master at Photoshop and web usability, but I don't have a clue on how to write Javascript. Recently, I began the process of looking into higher paying jobs and it seems that knowing Javascript is a hot skill to have to compliment my toolbox. I'd like to look into learning that programming language and was wondering if anyone here had any advice on how to start. With all the various frameworks out there (Jquery, etc), is there really a need to know Javascript or can I just jump into a framework and go from there? Do people really write Java from scratch these days or do they just do a "copy and paste" ?

I look forward to any advice you have. Thanks.

[Nile]

First, I suggest, learning the difference between java and javascript. Then, afterwards, learn some basic javascript. When you're done with that, you can jump into something like jquery or mootools.

[felgall]

To be able to use jQuery properly you need a good understanding of JavaScript - since that's what jQuery is written in.

I see lots of pages that have jQuery and two dozen lines of code to do something that can be done in half a dozen lines of ordinary JavaScript.

In learning JavaScript you need to be careful what resource you use to learn it from - some web sites that teach JavaScript still teach the way to write it for Netscape (w3schools is perhaps the best example of this) and the way to write it for modern browsers is completely different.